Modified Stars May Switch To Gn Tour

Auto Racing

MARTINSVILLE — A final look at Sunday's Winston 500 Classic at Martinsville Speedway:

Like rats on a sinking ship, some of NASCAR's top Modified drivers are looking around for a place to jump.

Newly crowned champion Jamie Tomaino, Martinsville pole-and race-winner Tony Hirschman and '88 champion Mike McLaughlin are making plans to run the Grand National tour next season.

The trend isn't new. Geoff Bodine, Jimmy Spencer, Brett Bodine and Greg Sacks abandoned the Northeastern-based Modifieds in the '80s to find fame and fortune with the Southeastern-based Busch cars.

"The Modifieds don't get enough recognition," Tomaino explained. "We don't run enough different tracks and there aren't enough big shows. If you want to move up, you have to run the Busch Series."

* WE'RE NOT ALONE

Don't think harshly of us for suggesting that national Late Model champion Max Prestwood isn't that good. Coys Bays, editor of FastTrack magazine and a short-track expert, called Prestwood "a fish out of water" during the Late Model 100. "He's nothing when you get him away from home," Bays said. "He's okay at some places, but he's not the best." Bays said Virginia has the country's best Late Model teams. "That's why a Virginian won't ever win the championship," he added. "The competition is so tough that nobody will win enough races to be the champ."

* SAWYER'S REVENGE

Chesapeake native Elton Sawyer was headed for a sure-fire Grand National top-five Sunday when L.D. Ottinger spun him at lap 149. After losing three laps, Sawyer restarted behind Ottinger and promptly ran all over the Tennessee driver. "I'm not sure what happened," Sawyer said with an innocent grin. "We got together and I spun, then I must have gotten into the throttle a little too hard and spun him back. No big deal." Sawyer finished 15th, Ottinger ninth.

* GENTLEMAN TOMMY

Long-time Busch Series driver Tommy Houston proved once again he's a class act when he didn't rough up Steve Grissom in the Grand National 200. With two laps left, Houston was inches from Grissom's rear bumper ... but didn't spin him. "I probably could have won if I'd gotten into Steve," Houston said. "I could have taken him around, but that's not the way to do it."

* POINTS CHANGES

Grand National winner Grissom went from fourth to third in the final Busch Series points; Bobby Labonte went from third to fourth; Tom Peck from sixth to fifth; Tommy Ellis from seventh to sixth; Kenny Wallace from fifth to seventh; Houston from 10th to ninth; and Rick Mast from ninth to 10th.

* MIKE'S CHARGE

Perhaps the best run of the entire weekend was Tabb driver Mike Buffkin's charge from dead-last to third in the program-opening Late Model 100. After starting third, Buffkin spun at lap 31. After restarting at the rear, he patiently worked back to the front. The charge moved race-winner Wayne Patterson to say of Buffkin: "He's one of the best drivers and nicest people I've ever run against. It's impressive that he could come back through that much traffic to finish third."